campaigns in return for agreeing to abide by campaign expenditure
limits.
The “matching payment” statute applies to the presidential
primary campaign.
It provides that, once certain statutory
qualifications are met, a presidential candidate is entitled to receive
matching payments (for contributions up to $250 from individual
donors) from the United States Treasury for his or her campaign, up to
half of the applicable total campaign spending limit. 26 U.S.C.
§ 9034(b). Presidential candidates who choose to accept primary
campaign matching funds are subject to FECA’s campaign
expenditure limits. 52 U.S.C. § 30116(b).
The general election funding statute allows a candidate who
has been nominated by a major party (i.e., the Republican Party or the
Democratic Party) or by a qualifying minor or new party for the
Presidency to receive all of his or her campaign funds from the
United States Treasury. 26 U.S.C. § 9004(a)(1). Presidential
candidates who choose to accept this federal grant are subject to the
campaign expenditure limits in 2 U.S.C. § 441a(b), and are also for the
most part prohibited from accepting any private contributions in
connection with the general election phase of their campaigns. 26
U.S.C. §§ 9003 and 9012.
Both public financing statutes contain bookkeeping and
reporting requirements, and also require that each campaign receiving
federal funds submit to a post-election audit by the FEC. 26 U.S.C.
§§ 9033 and 9003. Participating candidates must also agree to pay back
all funds which the FEC determines were not used for campaign
purposes, or which were spent in excess of the expenditure limit,
were not matchable, or were otherwise illegal. 26 U.S.C. §§ 9038 and
9007.
Each of these statutes contains its own criminal provision for,
among other things, providing false information to the FEC to obtain
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